Taylor Swift donates over £30,000 to New York City schools

Donation first of proceeds from singer's track 'Welcome To New York City' to go to schools

Taylor Swift has donated $50,000 (£32,000) to a New York City school.

The singer vowed in October 2014 to give all the royalties from her track ‘Welcome To New York City’ to New York’s education system. As the New York Times reports, the donation is only the first of any proceeds from the track that will continue to go to NYC schools.

The first donation will be used to fund Sing!, a musical production competition run by and aimed at high-school students. A spokesperson for New York’s education department said the city was “deeply appreciative of this kind of gesture”.

Swift, who had already sent presents to numerous fans over Christmas, gave 25-year-old Rebekah Bortnicker the cash, as well as a necklace, a painted picture of herself and a handwritten note, in which she thanked the fan for “cheering me on in the most thoughtful and creative ways”.

She added: “Rebekah, now you’re $1,989 closer to paying off those student loans.”